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Spiking of organic fertilizer under fire
By Jim Downing
jdowning@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Feb. 04, 2009 | Page 4A
State senators on Tuesday grilled organic certifiers and state regulators about what appears to be widespread chemical spiking of fertilizers used on the state's organic farms.
The practice – which violates federal rules – threatens to undermine consumer trust in the state's organic produce business and is testing the patchwork regulatory system meant to uphold the industry's integrity.
"There has never been anything like this," said Jake Lewin, chief certification officer at California Certified Organic Farmers, which monitors about 80 percent of the state's organic acreage.
Despite many calls for change, however, little consensus emerged from the four-hour Food and Agriculture Committee hearing, which was prompted by a Bee investigation of the organic fertilizer sector.
Officials from the state Department of Food and Agriculture said they are backing legislation to make the sale of synthetic fertilizer as organic a felony. The agency also supports new fees on organic fertilizer makers to fund state inspections, said Deputy Secretary Rayne Pegg. Lewin's group is also pushing for a stronger state role.
But Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Temecula, argued that the industry, which has always been largely self-regulating, ought to take the lead on reforms because farmers have the most at stake if consumers lose faith in the organic label. He hinted at reducing state oversight of the organic industry.
"They don't need us – they don't need this bill," he said.
California accounts for nearly 60 percent of the nation's harvest of organic fruits, nuts and vegetables, and it has always been a bellwether for the industry. The large nonprofit groups that verify organic integrity on state farms were founded more than a decade before federal standards were adopted in 2002.
As the industry has grown, though, weaknesses in that model have emerged. The Eugene, Ore.-based nonprofit Organic Materials Review Institute, which evaluates fertilizers, hasn't in the past collected enough money from the companies it monitors to support routine testing and inspections. At Tuesday's hearing, Dave DeCou, the group's executive director, said he would be raising fees and ramping up inspections of fertilizer makers.
Manufacturers have a strong incentive to spike their fertilizer because synthetic nitrogen is far cheaper than natural brews of fish or feathers. Synthetic chemicals are also difficult to detect.
Government officials also play a role in organic regulation, mainly by investigating complaints.
In early 2007, state officials pulled a tainted fertilizer that accounted for as much as a third of the California market. A second product was pulled several months later.
In late January, federal agents raided what industry sources say is the state's largest organic fertilizer maker. No charges have been filed, but Kern County records show the Bakersfield-based company has been cited twice for improperly storing thousands of gallons of aqua ammonia – a standard ingredient in synthetic fertilizer.
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